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MargaretMaryTRAVIS

TRAVIS, Margaret Mary August 23, 1933 - November 11, 2012 Of Saanichton, died peacefully at home after ten years of coping with Alzheimer's Disease. Margaret was born in Melbourne, Australia to Theo Moody and Veronica Fanning. Her mother died when Margaret was eight and her father subsequently remarried. With her older brother Jon, the family moved to New York during World War 11, where her father was posted as a foreign correspondent for an Australian newspaper. This experience whetted Margaret's appetite for travel. Back home after the war Margaret was awarded a scholarship to study at Sydney Teacher's College. She graduated from the National Art School and from college in 1954 with a Special Art Teacher's Diploma. She taught in various schools in NSW and, frustrated with the inequity of pay and conditions for female teachers in her native country, travelled to the UK and then on to British Columbia, where she would remain for the rest of her life. She spent two years as a teacher in Grand Forks then furthered her studies, gaining a Master of Science degree in 1967 and a Doctor of Education in 1974. She was an Assistant Professor and later an Associate Professor at the University of Victoria, took a leadership role in the establishment of the Canadian Youth Art Collection and was instrumental in leading the K-3 James Bay Community Project in Victoria. Margaret was an inspired teacher who nurtured her students and was determined to make her art room a positive, relaxed and creative environment. She loved Canada and became a citizen in the early 1970's. In 1977 she married fellow teacher Ken Travis and together they developed 10 acres of rural land on the Saanich Peninsula as a commercial kiwi fruit farm. During this period Margaret was a loving carer of Ken's ageing parents. She embraced farm life and took early retirement from the university in 1978. She remained an active member of the community, involved in Saanich Agricultural Societies and a local art group, which met weekly and held annual exhibitions. She was a great supporter of the indigenous community, donating scholarship funds to the university. Margaret was a down to earth woman, a humanitarian with great warmth and a lively sense of humor. For the last five years of her life she was cared for, with dedication, by Fedema Sapalo. supported by a team of marvelous caregivers. She is survived by her husband Ken and his extended family; by her brothers Jon and Daniel, sister Mary and their families in Australia. An informal gathering of friends and family will be held at Dalmeny Farm, 1485 Newton Heights Saanichton on Monday, November 19 between 3-5pm.